Two convicted of assault in Poirier rec centre fight

A confrontation that started over a weight room bench escalated into a confrontation that left one man with cracked bones around his eye and another needing a tooth implant, according to a recent B.C. Provincial Court judgment.

Three men were exercising at Poirier rec centre in February 2024 when Zhe Ming Bryan Wong grabbed a weight bench, leading to a confrontation with Sa’Ad Munshed.

Munshed walked toward Wong “in a strident manner” and the two men eventually stood face-to-face.

Munshed was angry and aggressive, according to Wong.

Wong said he was polite and tried to de-escalate the situation. In court, he said he didn’t recall raising his middle finger to Munshed, but a still photo from Poirier’s video system appears to show Wong’s middle finger raised.

Munshed said he was getting ready for chest exercises when he saw Wong had grabbed his bench.

When he talked to Wong about it, he said he wasn’t angry but Wong got aggressive, eventually pushing him and saying: “You think you are number one guy in the gym?”

Wong “did not readily admit” he pushed Munshed first. However, Judge Gregory Brown found Wong was acting defensively to create space.

Both Munshed and Wong said they were trying to de-escalate the situation by reporting the incident to rec centre staff. Both said the other challenged them to fight outside, and each accused the other of using racial slurs.

After each making a report to staff downstairs, Wong, Munshed, and four of Munshed’s friends walked to the stairwell.

Video footage showed Munshed getting very close to Wong. At that point, Wong pushed Munshed toward a wall and Munshed’s friend Ali Alabed stepped in and pushed Wong.

Wong kicked Alabed several times in the groin and Alabed eventually punched Wong in the face three times.

“By the third punch, Mr. Wong has turned away and his head is facing downwards,” according to the judgment.

Munshed also punched Wong.

“From this point forward, it is a two-on-one scenario for some time,” Brown wrote.

“Wong said the punches were like a truck hitting his face, and it felt like closed fists,” according to the judgment.

In his verdict, Judge Brown noted there were: “cracks in the credibility and reliability of all the witnesses.”

However, “there is no doubt” Munshed and Alabed struck Wong.

Wong was “was one man in a narrow hallway surrounded by four men,” Brown noted.

Munshed and Alabed were both found guilty of assault causing bodily harm.